Campaign to fill in 'dangerous' quarry

A campaign has been launched to fill in the quarry where an Edinburgh city teacher died in a scuba diving accident.

Kelda Henderson, 36, who taught drama at George Heriot's School, failed to resurface during a dive at the disused Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Sunday, 9 July.

Ms Henderson was the fourth person to die at the site.

Locals said it is "Scotland's most dangerous quarry".

In August 2014, Cameron Lancaster, 18, from Burntisland, died at the same quarry while John McKay, 18, from Kirkcaldy, also lost his life there in June 2015.

Now their relatives are leading a new pressure group, Action for Prestonhill, calling for the quarry to be drained and filled in and the site turned into a recreational area.

Gillian Barclay, whose son Cameron died at the site, said: "There have been too many deaths at this quarry, and those of us who have lost someone there feel a great sense of regret and responsibility.

"Despite campaigning and speaking out about the dangers of this quarry, people are still being gravely harmed by it. We need more action now."

Kevin O'Neil, whose brother Robert fell to his death at the quarry in 1973 when he was just 12, said: "I first met Gillian in July 2015, shortly after the death of John MacKay and we have become good friends.

"Unfortunately, I was unable to do much campaigning then as just shortly after I first met Gillian, I was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer and I was fighting for my own life.

"The dangers of this quarry have been known for years and the owners of the site have failed to protect the public. 

"It doesn't help matters when others pull down some of the flimsy fencing but ultimately it is the responsibility of the owners to ensure the security of the site.

"The only safe option is to drain the quarry and fill it in.  After that we can look at proposals to make it a recreational area that could be used by all local residents."